‘Star Wars Rebels’ Season 2 Premieres, Much More ‘Star Wars’ To Come In 2015

The second season premiere of Star Wars Rebels aired Saturday night to critical fanfare, building momentum towards this holiday’s release of the seventh Star Wars live-action film.

2015 is shaping up to be a big year for Star Wars, with numerous iterations of the franchise playing out all over the entertainment world. The animated series, which takes place between the events of Star Wars: Episode III and Episode IV, was well-received in season one and ran for 13 episodes. Earlier this year, actor Freddie Prinze Jr. shared his excitement for season 2 on Twitter.

https://twitter.com/RealFPJr/status/561194976974233600

But Star Wars isn’t only appearing in animated form this year. While the live-action film, Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens, may be what fans are anticipating most, the video game world will also see a massive dose of Star Wars this fall. Electronic Arts is releasing Star Wars Battlefront on November 17 for PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4. The online multiplayer game will allow players to recreate, and re-imagine, some of their favorite scenes from the Star Wars movies.

Also releasing this fall, with an exact date still to be determined, is Disney Infinity: Star Wars. This game enables players to take specially made Star Wars toys and use them as their in-game character. The title is more geared towards children, whereas Battlefront is definitely a game for older players.

There are already multiple Star Wars LEGO sets in existence already, and more are on the way. In February, LEGO announced they would be releasing 32 Star Wars-themed sets throughout 2015, and at that time, Jill Wilfert, vice president of licensing and entertainment for The LEGO Group, said this collection was one of the largest since 1999.

“For more than 15 years, children and kids at heart have told and retold the Star Wars story through LEGO brick play and this year we will give them even more characters and elements to recreate the epic saga – including several sets with which to add Star Wars: The Force Awakens to their building adventures.”

In addition to film, television, and console video games, there are numerous other versions of Star Wars entertainment popping up this year. Card games, mobile games, comic books and more are all making a play to cash in on what may be 2015’s hottest franchise.

Star Wars Rebels airs on Disney XD, and though an official number has not been released, many expect the season to run 20+ episodes. While the show has a lot of characters that may be unfamiliar to the casual Star Wars fan, there are some recognizable faces as well, like Darth Vader. James Earl Jones reprises his role as the famous Sith Lord.

[Image via LucasFilm]